The Original Novena

A novena is typically a nine-day period during which prayers are said each day for a particular intention. Where did the idea of praying for nine days come from? Well, in the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke tells us that the Risen Lord remained on earth for forty days (Acts 1:3); and we know that Pentecost was fifty days after Easter. This leaves an interval of nine days from the Ascension of Jesus until the vigil of Pentecost. And what did the disciples do during those nine days? They “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.” (Acts 1:14) That was the first Christian novena.

I tell you this now so that you may imitate the disciples and prepare for the feast of Pentecost by praying a novena. If you start on May 26 (which is celebrated as Ascension Thursday in many places), you will finish the novena on June 4, the day before Pentecost.What a great way to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit! Certainly we can see the need for the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our community, and in our world. Praying a novena before the feast of his coming is a way to unite ourselves with Christians of all times and places, going all the way back to that first novena prayed in preparation for the first Pentecost.

What prayers should you say during your novena? There are numerous sites on the internet, and numerous apps that contain novena prayers for the coming of the Holy Spirit; or perhaps (like me) you have a prayer book that contains such novena prayers.However you choose to do it, let’s all pray that the Holy Spirit may come with his seven gifts and all the graces we need to be truly united to Jesus Christ.

Gratefully yours,

The Sacramental Life

From Holy Saturday on, these last few weeks have been marked by a very large number of sacramental celebrations here at St. Edward the Confessor and San Felipe de Jesús. Sixteen people received all three Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion. Ninety-two young people were confirmed by Bishop Freyer. Over a hundred young people have received First Communion so far (and there are more to come); of course, that was preceded by their First Reconciliation earlier on this year. And all of this is in addition to our usual Baptisms, our regular Confessions and Masses, and a number of weddings and Anointings of the Sick.This is the first meaning of the word “celebrate” in our parish vision of “Celebrate, Serve, and Evangelize.”We celebrate the sacraments.

All of this sacramental activity reminds me that the sacraments are the heart and soul of Catholic living. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith.” (n. 1210) The sacraments are one of the things that sets us apart from most other Christian denominations.

Since the sacraments are the channels of God’s grace in our lives, we cannot live without them. I hope we treasure these special encounters with Our Risen Lord, encounters that are just as real and redemptive as the encounters with the Lord that the Gospels tell us about. Weekly Mass is a special treasure among these celebrations, and hopefully it is a priority in our lives. May we always celebrate the Paschal Mystery with devotion, gratitude, and joy!

Gratefully yours,

Welcome Rosy!

Have you seen the virtual tour I recently recorded of our new Pastoral Center and Knight Hall? I hope you have—not because I’m in it, but because it is really great to see what’s going on inside that construction site we drive by so often. The project is moving along nicely!

Of course, we have a lot of preparation to do before the building opens; and once it opens, access to the building and promotion of the building will need to be managed. For these tasks (as well as many others), I have brought Rosy Stock on staff to be our Parish Services Manager. She will help with scheduling as well as adherence to the policies and procedures and the philosophy of use that will govern access to the building.

You will be hearing more from Rosy as she gathers information from you (especially the ministry leaders) and keeps you informed on what you will need to know as we move into the new building. We are working as fast and as hard as we can to develop policies and procedures that are equitable and that will hold us all to the highest level of stewardship over this great blessing God has given us. Please join me in welcoming Rosy to her new role. You may contact her at 949-429-2888 or rstock@stedward.com.

Gratefully yours,